The Steelers won’t have a shot at a franchise-type quarterback in the first round of the draft, so what positions should they look at? Most have gravitated toward a wide receiver, but what if the board doesn’t fall in a feasible way? Their roster has plenty of other holes, or at least areas that could use some help.
If not a quarterback or a wide receiver, Ray Fittipaldo believes several positions should be in play. He appeared on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday to discuss the Steelers’ draft plans, among other things. When asked about this first-round scenario, he offered his thoughts.
“Defensive line would make a lot of sense, because Cam [Heyward]’s probably a year away from retirement”, he said, noting that the Steelers used the first round of the draft to address that position just last year. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need even more help.
It might not be easy for the Steelers to draft for that position in the first round, though, Fittipaldo believes. “The only issue with defensive line this year is it’s not a great draft for five-techniques”, he said. “You’ve got a bunch of nose tackles who are really good, edge rushers are really good. But you don’t have that prototypical Cam Heyward or Derrick Harmon in this draft”.
But what about the rest of the roster? One could make the case for just about any position for the Steelers to address early in the draft. Some of it depends on how the offseason unfolds. For example, what if they don’t re-sign Isaac Seumalo? “Would you be shocked if it’s a guard at 21?”, Fittipaldo asked.
“How about safeties? There’s three really good safeties in this draft, three projected to go in the first round. The question about a safety is, though, what’s the value?”, he said. “They’re gonna have a lot of options”.
As stated above, there are many ways the Steelers could structure their offseason that will shape their positional needs in the draft. If, for example, they re-sign Kyle Dugger and/or keep Jalen Ramsey at safety, that settles the safety spot. Re-signing Seumalo fill that gap at guard. But the defensive line and wide receiver are two areas at which they will have to look for external help. Roman Wilson and Isaiaah Loudermilk aren’t going to save the day, at least not by their lonesome.
As Fittipaldo says, however, the Steelers will have options. And one of those options is not settling for the best player available at a position of need. With 12 draft picks, they are more free to move about the board. If there is a particular prospect about which they feel strongly, they could move up to get him.
And lest we forget, the Steelers have shown greater willingness to do this. They have traded up in the first round twice since 2019, first for Devin Bush and then for Broderick Jones. Those examples may not make the case for doing that, but every selection must be viewed independently.
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